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**Shake** · 02-23-2004, 12:46 PM

Since this thread inspired me to watch the DVD again, I thought I'd type up the word straight from the DVD's trivia track:

Some feel that the briefcase is a "McGuffin." Hitchcock coined the term "McGuffin" to refer to a red herring that misleads the audience. It's usually a prop or other physical item that seems to motivate the characters, but ultimately means little or nothing to the story.
Fans of Pulp Fiction weren't so willing to accept this convenient answer and have spent a lot of time proposing what Marsellus Wallace's "dirty laundry" really is. One suggestion is that it contains the diamonds that were stolen in Quentin's film Reservoir Dogs. Another suggestion is that the briefcase contains the gold Elvis suit worn by Val Kilmer in the Quentin-scripted movie True Romance.
A popular hypothesis is that the briefcase contains the soul of Marsellus. Legend has it that when the devil steals your soul, he takes it out through the back of your head. Since Marcellus is seen with a Band-Aid on the back of his head, this means his soul has been stolen and is now in the briefcase. This theory is further supported when Jules and Vincent experience "Divine Intervention" (or maybe not-so-divine intervention) in getting the briefcase back. Additional proof is that the combination of the case is "666", considered to be the sign of the devil.
Another speculation is that the briefcase contains a bunch of solid gold bricks. This would make sense of Pumpkin's reaction ("Is that what I think it is?" and "It's beautiful"). Some film fans think the case contains some of the mysterious stash from the movie Repo Man. The climax of that film involves the repossession of a Chevy Malibu with top-secret glowing cargo in the trunk. Some say it's an Oscar statue. They weight only about eight pounds, making it easy to carry in a briefcase. This would also connect with Pumpkin's reaction. Another speculation on the contents of the briefcase is that it was a homage to Robert Aldrich's great pulp thriller Kiss Me Deadly, which includes a hijacked briefcase full of nuclear material.

02-23-2004, 12:46 PM	#13
Shake Kiss my face. Posts: 34	Since this thread inspired me to watch the DVD again, I thought I'd type up the word straight from the DVD's trivia track: Some feel that the briefcase is a "McGuffin." Hitchcock coined the term "McGuffin" to refer to a red herring that misleads the audience. It's usually a prop or other physical item that seems to motivate the characters, but ultimately means little or nothing to the story. Fans of Pulp Fiction weren't so willing to accept this convenient answer and have spent a lot of time proposing what Marsellus Wallace's "dirty laundry" really is. One suggestion is that it contains the diamonds that were stolen in Quentin's film Reservoir Dogs. Another suggestion is that the briefcase contains the gold Elvis suit worn by Val Kilmer in the Quentin-scripted movie True Romance. A popular hypothesis is that the briefcase contains the soul of Marsellus. Legend has it that when the devil steals your soul, he takes it out through the back of your head. Since Marcellus is seen with a Band-Aid on the back of his head, this means his soul has been stolen and is now in the briefcase. This theory is further supported when Jules and Vincent experience "Divine Intervention" (or maybe not-so-divine intervention) in getting the briefcase back. Additional proof is that the combination of the case is "666", considered to be the sign of the devil. Another speculation is that the briefcase contains a bunch of solid gold bricks. This would make sense of Pumpkin's reaction ("Is that what I think it is?" and "It's beautiful"). Some film fans think the case contains some of the mysterious stash from the movie Repo Man. The climax of that film involves the repossession of a Chevy Malibu with top-secret glowing cargo in the trunk. Some say it's an Oscar statue. They weight only about eight pounds, making it easy to carry in a briefcase. This would also connect with Pumpkin's reaction. Another speculation on the contents of the briefcase is that it was a homage to Robert Aldrich's great pulp thriller Kiss Me Deadly, which includes a hijacked briefcase full of nuclear material.